UNSC approves ‘immediate’ Gaza ceasefire, Guterres says failure to implement ‘unforgivable’

The United Nations Security Council adopted in a vote on Monday a resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza during Ramadan, marking the first time the body has pushed through a resolution calling for an end to the brutal aggression on the strip since October 7.

The resolution, proposed by Mozambique’s representative and written by the 10 elected members to the council, also demanded an “immediate and unconditional” release of hostages as well as the “urgent need to expand the flow of aid into Gaza.” 

The resolution from the 15-member body was approved with 14 votes in favor. The United States abstained from voting, but refrained from using its veto power to prevent the measure from passing. 

Following the vote, UN Secretary General António Guterres wrote on X that the “resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.”

Under the UN charter, all UN member states are obligated to comply with Security Council decisions.

Yasser Hassan, the lead counsel of the Arab Lawyers Union’s legal team for defending Palestinian victims before international courts, told Mada Masr that without invocation of chapter 7 of the UN Charter — which allows the council to “determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security” — the UN would not “physically” enforce the decision. 

Following the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu canceled a planned trip to Washington by top aides National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer after the US refrained from using its right to veto to block the UN Security Council.

A statement released by the Israeli prime minister’s office said that the abstention is “a clear retreat from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war,” and one that “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without releasing our hostages.”

White House spokesperson John Kirby, however, said that the US had not been informed of a cancellation of a visit.

"We were looking forward to having a discussion (about) alternatives and options to a major ground offensive because we don't believe that a ground offensive in Rafah is the right course of action," Kirby told reporters, when asked about reports that the Israeli visit had been canceled.

This comes after Russia and China vetoed a truce resolution proposed by the United States to the UN Security Council on Friday, which aimed to broker a six-week truce in Gaza in exchange for the release of prisoners held by resistance groups in the Gaza strip.

Israeli-US relations have been on edge in recent months due to disagreements on military operations in Gaza, as Netenyahu has reiterated his intent to invade Rafah, where at least 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering after being displaced from their homes by Israel’s ground invasion and constant bombardment of the stip. US President Joe Biden has recently said that he would consider conditioning military aid to Israel if it goes through with the invasion plan.

Ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, have failed to materialize in a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israel continues to limit the inflow of lifesaving aid through land routes into Gaza, causing widespread starvation, a collapse in the healthcare system, and dehydration.